mel proctor

I love the work, but I hate the business. Maybe you have said those words about your own job. But if you are a sportscaster, that phrase has probably become your mantra.

Known best as the longtime play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Bullets, Proctor also called games for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, and Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball and the New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA. Proctor has also enjoyed a long career as a network broadcaster, calling the NFL and college basketball for NBC; college basketball for CBS; the NBA, college football, and boxing for Turner Sports, and baseball for Fox.

Relating never-before-heard anecdotes, Proctor introduces us to sports icons, including Muhammad Ali, Wilt Chamberlain, Cal Ripken, Jim Palmer, Earl Weaver, Bernard King, Frank Robinson, Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Tony Gwynn, Ken Caminiti, Rick Pitino, Paul Hornung, and Junior Seau. He also writes about personal encounters with former presidents Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon and stars like Audrey Hepburn, Jack Nicholson, Garth Brooks, Larry King, Howard Stern, and Tom Selleck.

I Love the Work, But I Hate the Business is also a cautionary tale, a survival guide for anyone thinking about a career in broadcasting, a world filled with big dreams and bigger disappointments, where promises and handshakes are often worthless and getting fired is commonplace. During both challenges and setbacks, Proctor s love of sports shines through in this funny, fast-paced memoir.